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Stop solving problems you don't yet have

Stop solving problems you don't yet have

Presentation for Fronteers meetup in Amsterdam, June 2012. The blog post that this is based on can be found at: http://www.rachelandrew.co.uk/archives/2012/03/21/stop-solving-problems-you-dont-yet-have/

Rachel Andrew

June 15, 2012
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  1. <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- function MM_reloadPage(init) { if (init==true) with (navigator)

    {if ((appName=="Netscape")&&(parseInt(appVersion)==4)) { document.MM_pgW=innerWidth; document.MM_pgH=innerHeight; onresize=MM_reloadPage; }} else if (innerWidth!=document.MM_pgW || innerHeight!=document.MM_pgH) location.reload(); } MM_reloadPage(true); //--> </script>
  2. Things used by people who understand the problems they solve

    are also used by those who do not understand those problems, or even if there is a problem.
  3. <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/basic.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width:

    460px)" href="/ assets/css/460.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 700px)" href="/ assets/css/700.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 940px)" href="/ assets/css/940.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 1180px)" href="/ assets/css/1180.css" />
  4. We (edgeofmyseat.com) are retained to maintain & develop the site.

    We can make these changes when old browser usage reduces.
  5. Avoiding using the tag in your selectors means you can

    switch tags in your templates without changing your CSS.
  6. My decision to fix the width for older browsers also

    made polyfilling CSS3 selectors much easier.
  7. 1. What is the problem? My process 2. What are

    my constraints? 3. Is not supporting this feature an option? 4. What current solutions exist? 5. Use a polyfill or roll my own?
  8. How many users of the Perch website do not have

    support for the modern web technologies we want to use?
  9. I use more polyfills when I have fewer older browser

    users. The downsides are going to be an issue to a much smaller %
  10. Starting with the bare minimum and adding things forces you

    to consider the implications of each thing you add.
  11. There’s no silver bullet to making a slow site fast.

    You must take a holistic approach. High performance runs the entire way through from the hardware it’s hosted on, through the app that builds the pages, to the server software that delivers the pages and the front end code that displays them in a browser. Drew McLellan - http://allinthehead.com/retro/361/how-to-make-your-website-fast
  12. Web pages are getting larger and a lot of the

    size is down to JavaScript. http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/11/21/web-pages-getting-bloated-here-is-why/
  13. ... no matter how old we are, how long we

    have been doing this, and whether we write tutorials or speak at conferences or not.
  14. If we train people to just copy and paste, we

    stop them growing, learning and contributing.
  15. Make sure you know why you are using a solution

    and what your other options are.
  16. When teaching or writing tutorials for others explain problems before

    handing out the solution. Explain why as well as how.
  17. Thank you. Image credits - Flickr users: artbystevejohnson, atoach, dominicspics,

    imagesbywestfall, koalazymonkey, pinksherbert, whatcouldgowrong